Six Were Present: A Bobby Owen Mystery

by E. R. Punshon

  HUNT. There’ve many stood in the dock on less evidence.

  BOBBY. Next. Miss Elsie White, the young woman who fainted. She admits Sir John was trying to blackmail her into acting as a kind of business spy for him and that if she refused, and she meant to refuse, she says, he could have made her lose her job in such disgrace she would never have got another. His death has saved her.

  HUNT. Very convenient, too.

  BOBBY. Also one of the hotel staff reports having heard her making threats about killing Sir John. That was in the hotel lobby before dinner. She was in outdoor clothes, hat and gloves. She denies knowing anything about pistols and from the way she handled the one we showed her it seemed like it. Even when we showed her the safety catch, she didn’t seem to know what it was for. Questions about tattooing drew blank but she is fond of bathing and swims well.

  HUNT. I notice you always asked that.

  BOBBY. It may be useful to know. You remember the liftman said there was no swimming pool here.

  HUNT. Yes, but what’s that matter? What’s swimming and bathing got to do with it?

  BOBBY. I’ll come to that later, Chief Inspector, if I may. But first, there’s another possibility about Miss White in connection with Dick Fuller. He is tall, dark, and young. That answers the description of the person reported on the track of Sir John’s big diamond. His name sounds like the name ‘Dick Forman’ our contact gave us. He and Elsie White were seen talking excitedly together before dinner. She dined with Sir John. It might be that she and Dick Fuller were working together to get hold of the diamond. He was certainly in a very nervous, excited state. At dinner he upset a bottle of olive oil over the table and himself, too.

  HUNT. Sticky stuff, olive oil.

  BOBBY. His own story is that he was there to protect Miss White.

  HUNT. The jealousy motive again. Possibly Sir John had got off with her and our young man knew it and that’s why. Considering Sir John’s reputation it is almost a wonder no one’s done him in before.

  BOBBY. He admits he is a good swimmer and fond of bathing. Denies knowing more about firearms than any one else, but knows the difference between an automatic and a revolver and looked for the safety-catch at once. We drew a blank about the tattooing. He didn’t seem to know what we were driving at. He had loose chamois leather gloves in his pocket, gloves easily slipped on and off.

  HUNT. He’s on the list of suspects all right.

  BOBBY. Then there’s the older man – Mr. Stephen Smith. You said you had something on him?

  HUNT. Yes. Report just came in. From a pub where it seems Mr. Smith sold a revolver in the private bar. Nice sort of thing to do. The barmaid didn’t know there was anything wrong about it, but she told the landlord, and he thought he had better report it. Did Smith sell the big service revolver or did he exchange it for that jolly little automatic that’ll go into any one’s pocket? The landlord says Smith was a bit plastered and they had to throw him out. All very suggestive.

  BOBBY. His story now is he came to see Sir John on business – urgent business. When we asked what it was, he let out that Sir John was putting through a big deal that might wipe Smith off the map.

  HUNT. So did he wipe Sir John off instead?

  BOBBY. He admits having used threats. He was certainly in a very excited state. He had gloves in his pocket, loose gardening gloves. He says he didn’t know they were there. He supposes he put them in last night and forgot them. He hasn’t swum a stroke or bathed out of doors for years. Weakish heart and doctors forbade it. His army service has made him familiar with firearms. Didn’t respond to the tattooing question at first but got excited when he knew one initial was ‘K’, as his wife’s name is Kate. It seems he thought she and Sir John were a bit too friendly. He knew once a Mrs. Billy Jacks who ran away from her husband to go off with Sir John and he thought the same thing might happen again and he didn’t mean it to.

  HUNT. Added motive, jealousy. Hang it, we can’t put half a dozen different people in the dock, all charged with the same crime.

  BOBBY. Then there’s his wife – MRS. SMITH. She says she followed her husband because she was afraid what he might do. She was in outdoor dress, hat and gloves. Her christian name begins with a ‘K’ but the tattooing seemed to mean nothing to her and she gave up open air bathing when her husband did. She admits understanding firearms.

  HUNT. If she’s guilty, the idea is she did it to save her husband? Or because Sir John had chucked her as he chucked that other woman, Mrs. Billy Jacks. Which?

  BOBBY. Neither perhaps. But she’s one of those in the lift. Then there’s Carter. He refuses to answer questions till he has his lawyer present. Probably bluff, as he declined to give the name of any lawyer. He wanted to refuse to turn out his pockets but finally produced a wad of pound notes looking very like those Lady Weedon says are missing from her handbag. He is tall, dark, and youngish. He had a pair of smart hogskin gloves in his pocket and also a pair of loose cotton ones.

  HUNT. Ah. Loose cotton gloves – that smells.

  BOBBY. He says he can swim and often does. He doesn’t understand firearms, so he says. The tattooing didn’t seem to mean anything to him. He has a copy of the Midwych Guardian on him. Nothing else much. He swanked a lot but was plainly nervous and I should expect him to break down under further questioning.

  HUNT. We’ll have a try. It stands like this then. It must have been one of those in the lift and there’s a case against them all. Against Lady Weedon is the discarded wife planning a come back and apparently finding a younger rival in possession. Against Elsie White, to save herself from Sir John’s attentions and blackmail. Against Mrs. Smith, to save her husband with possibly jealousy as a secondary motive. Against Mr. Smith, with a history of pistols and his admission that Sir John’s death saves him from a business smash. Against Dick Fuller, who may be in with Miss White and may be identical with the ‘Dick Forman’ reported as after Sir John’s diamond. Against Carter, for refusing to account for himself, for these suspicious cotton gloves, for being in possession of a wad of pound notes that look like those Lady Weedon says are missing. Hang it all, Owen, that means there’s a case against them all, and we know it must have been one, and yet I’ll be hanged if I can see why it should be one rather than another. Can they have all been in it together?

  BOBBY. Hardly that, chief inspector, surely.

  HUNT. No. I suppose not. But there it is. It must be one. A case against each. Only which one. What do you think?

  BOBBY. Well, chief inspector, now we’ve been through it again it seems to me that there are three vital points to remember. Gloves. Voice. Tattooing.

  HUNT. Gloves. Voice. Tattooing.

  BOBBY. Yes. Gloves. Voice. Tattooing. That’s three points. Add to that that the evidence seems to show pretty clearly the innocence of the others, and then I think myself you will be perfectly safe in arresting and charging –

  PART 2

  THE SOLUTION

  (Phone rings)

  HUNT. Hullo . . . yes . . . chief inspector Hunt speaking . . . oh . . . oh, is he? Oh . . . yes, certainly . . . very pleased indeed to hear it . . . delighted . . . difficult case . . . very gratifying to know I’m to have his assistance . . . most gratifying . . . thank you . . . goodbye. (Hangs up)

  BOBBY. Who was that?

  HUNT. Damn and blast . . . of all the lousy luck . . . it’s the A.C. . . . he’s coming along . . . I did think I should have a chance to clear it up on my own . . . and now here’s the A.C. poking his nose in . . . what the hell . . . I hope he breaks his blasted neck before he gets here. What is it, Sergeant?

  MARTIN. It’s the Assistant Commissioner himself, sir. He’s coming down the corridor.

  ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER. Well, chief inspector, making any progress? Ah, there you are, Owen. I heard you were down from Midwych. Going to make a splash, this case, chief inspector, important man, Sir John Briggs . . . got to clear it up quick or the press’ll be raising a howl . . . I had a short report over the ’phon
e. Shot in the up-lift, eh? Must have been one of the people in with him.

  HUNT. Yes, sir. That much is certain.

  A.C.. You were on the spot at the time, Owen, weren’t you?

  BOBBY. Yes, sir. I was at the end of the corridor, talking to one of the hotel staff.

  A.C.. Yes, yes. Well, if it was one of those in the lift, it ought to be easy enough to sort ’em out. Sort ’em out. Let me see, who were they?

  HUNT. Lady Weedon. Divorced wife of Sir John’s. Possible motive, jealousy and disappointment as she was trying to stage a come-back and apparently he wasn’t having any. Also she caused confusion by spilling her pearl necklace. Mrs. Smith. Possible motive to protect her husband whose business was threatened by Sir John’s new deal. Also hint of possible intrigue with Sir John and fear husband might discover it. Miss Elsie White. Possible motive, blackmail attempt by Sir John to force her to act as a business spy. Those are the three women. They all wore gloves and the small two two automatic could easily have been hidden in a hand bag. The three men are:- Dick Fuller. Possible motive to protect Miss White. Not engaged to her but wants to be. Another complication is that he answers the description of the tall, dark young man, Bobby Owen here had information was after a big diamond in Sir John’s possession. Also his name, Dick Fuller, resembles the name, Dick Forman, reported to Owen. Possibly concerned to steal diamond with Miss White as decoy. Admits having used threats. Stephen Smith. Also overheard using threats. Possible motive, a fear of being driven out of business by Sir John’s new plans. Or, again, jealousy, if there’s any truth in the suggestion of an intrigue between his wife and Sir John. Finally, there’s this man, Carter, who is more difficult to account for. He refuses to answer questions. He objected to being searched but – well, we did search him.

  A.C.. No force used, I hope, chief inspector.

  HUNT. Oh, no, sir. We shouldn’t dream of using force, sir. Carter – er – well, he was persuaded to agree. He was found to be in possession of a wad of notes. Lady Weedon says she had a similar wad in her hand bag and now it isn’t there. Carter’s story is that he picked them up in the lift and was just going to ask whose they were when the murder occurred and he was so shocked and upset and excited he forgot all about them.

  A.C.. Thin. Very thin. But it might go down with a jury.

  HUNT. Anything will go down with a jury. All juries suffer from softening of the brain.

  A.C.. He answers the description given the Midwych police, too, doesn’t he? Tall dark and young. Sounds promising. Only we’ve got to have more proof.

  HUNT. Yes, sir.

  A.C.. Not so easy to sort ’em out.

  HUNT. No, sir.

  A.C.. Not so easy at all to sort ’em out. Looks like Carter to me.

  BOBBY. If I may say so, sir, the evidence chief inspector Hunt has got together seems to prove the innocence of all in the lift – except one of them of course. Then there are three separate clues that point very clearly to exactly the same person.

  A.C.. Eh? What clues are those?

  BOBBY. Voice. Gloves. Tattooing.

  A.C.. But . . . hang it all, they’ve all got voices.

  BOBBY. Yes, sir, only –

  A.C.. The three women were wearing gloves. The three men had gloves in their possession. So where do gloves come in?

  BOBBY. Well, sir, you see –

  A.C.. As for the tattooing. Hang it all, how does tattooing done twenty or thirty years ago help to clear up a murder committed to-night? Tell me that, young man.

  BOBBY. Well, sir, may I take them all in turn. I think the evidence shows that Lady Weedon and Mrs. Smith were both at the back of the lift picking up the pearls fallen from the broken necklace. Mrs. Smith had two in her hand at the time. She showed them to me. I examined the gold wire on which the pearls were threaded. It was cut by some sharp instrument. Lady Weedon had no such sharp instrument in her possession. Furthermore, if Lady Weedon had brought the automatic with her, she would have taken care the fastening of her hand bag was secure. Again if she had the automatic with her she must have planned the murder in advance. But the evidence suggests that she wanted a reconciliation, and only on her arrival just before dinner was upset to find her former husband dining with Miss White. She had, therefore, since she must have thought a reconciliation possible, no motive for even thinking of murder. Taking all that with the other facts, especially the liftman’s evidence that both women were at the back of the lift picking up the scattered pearls, I suggest it is impossible even to think of charging either of them.

  A.C.. No. I don’t see any answers to that. Very well. Those two, Lady Weedon and Mrs. Smith, are out of it. What about the White girl?

  BOBBY. She is entirely ignorant of firearms. Even when we showed her the safety catch she had no idea of what it was for. More important, is the elder evidence that Sir John was pushing her out of the lift in front of him. It would not therefore have been possible for her to twist back her arm to shoot him in the back, more especially as she was on his right and the shots were fired from the left.

  A.C.. Yes. I see that. Well, then she’s out. Good thing, too. I hate bringing in a woman. So it must have been one of the men.

  BOBBY. Yes, sir. For that leaves only men in the lift. Take Stephen Smith. His right hand was bandaged. He had cut it rather badly. The liftman’s evidence is that Smith was standing to the right of Briggs, between him and the left wall of the lift, with his left arm pressed against the lift wall. He could neither have used his right hand nor twisted himself round far enough to push his left hand under Briggs’s dinner jacket. Another physical impossibility.

  A.C.. Yes. That clears him. Leaves the two young men, Dick Fuller, isn’t it? And Carter. Looks bad against Mr. Dick Fuller, friend of the girl and threats and all.

  BOBBY. Yes, sir. I think he would have been in a bad hole but for having spilt the olive oil at dinner. Olive oil is sticky stuff. Naturally he wiped his hands but they are still greasy and his handkerchief is covered with the stuff. He couldn’t possibly have touched the pistol, put on his gloves or used his handkerchief, without leaving oily traces. But there are none. So I think he is out, too.

  A.C.. You mean it was Carter? Very suspicious, his conduct.

  HUNT. There was the way he barged into the lift at the last moment.

  BOBBY. Could you see your way, sir, to letting me ask him a few more questions?

  A.C.. Right. Chief inspector, tell one of your men to bring him in.

  HUNT. Sergeant, ask Mr. Carter to come here.

  MARTIN. Very good, sir. This way, Mr. Carter, please.

  CARTER. What’s the game now? Still trying to pin it on me. I tell you I had nothing to do with it.

  HUNT. So you say.

  CARTER. Why should I want to bump off the old geezer? I didn’t know who he was. Never seen him before.

  BOBBY. May I ask a few questions?

  A.C.. Yes. Go ahead. Carter, you understand you needn’t answer if you don’t wish to but that anything you do say is required for use as evidence, and that my present intention is to charge you with the murder of Sir John Briggs unless you can give a very satisfactory account of yourself indeed.

  CARTER. I tell you it wasn’t me. My God, why should you want to pick on me . . . it wasn’t me . . . it wasn’t . . . you damn cops, you don’t care who you hang so long as you can fix it on some one. I was a cop once myself and I know. All you want is some one with a record you can pick on, but I’ve never been before a beak yet so you don’t get me there.

  BOBBY. Pull yourself together, man. Cops don’t hang any one. That’s for judge and jury. If you are innocent, you’ve nothing to be afraid of, if you will answer a few questions. Are you willing to do that, or would you rather wait till you are actually charged with murder?

  CARTER. You can’t do that, you can’t . . . I’m innocent. I –

  BOBBY. Shut up. Don’t be a fool. Are you willing to answer? I’m giving you good advice when I say it will be best to answer – and to tell the tr
uth.

  CARTER. What do you want to know?

  BOBBY. Were you dismissed from the Midwych police because there were too many housebreaking cases on your beat?

  CARTER. What if I was? How do you know?

  BOBBY. Well, you told us, didn’t you? You said you had been a cop yourself and you’re a Midwych man. You had the Midwych Guardian in your pocket.

  CARTER. Bought it in London.

  BOBBY. Funny you bought the Midwych edition then and not the London edition. You hinted you had a record but said you had never been before a beak. That meant, if the police had a record and you had never been prosecuted. It must have been because there had been a police board of inquiry. Dishonest police generally go in for burglary and housebreaking, so it was a fair guess that was the trouble with you.

  CARTER. Know it all, don’t you?

  BOBBY. We had information there was going to be a try to get off with the Blue John diamond. You answer the description given us – tall, dark, young. The name we had was Dick Forman. That seemed like the name, Dick Fuller, of one man in the lift. I think now there was a mistake and what was really meant was ‘a dick formerly’, a former policeman. A misunderstanding. Former policeman suggests you. And you lied when you said you had just registered here.

  CARTER. All right. Smarty, you are, aren’t you? Put it all together neat as ninepence. I only said that about having a room on Nine to get into the lift. But I didn’t murder any one. I may pinch things when I get a chance but I’m no murderer. I was hoping to have a go at the Blue John diamond. Just watching for a chance. But I saw it put in the hotel safe so I knew that was off. I hung around to see if anything else turned up. A fellow’s got to live and I didn’t want all the expense and trouble of togging up to pass in a swell hotel without something to show for it. I heard the old girl who came up in the lift say her hand bag came loose and she must mind she didn’t lose her money. You’ve got to think quick in my line, so I pushed into the lift, bluffed the liftman I had a room on Nine, and I snipped the wire holding the old girl’s pearls. That’s always a good wheeze. They got excited, with their pearls spilling all round, and then you get your chance. She dropped her bag to grab her pearls, just as I thought she would.